As one chef put it, "We're going to paint the town with foie gras."
Um, that might be taking it a little far, but okay.
After just over a year of the law that banned restaurants from serving foie gras, the city of Chicago has done an about-face, making the fatty liver of ducks and geese available to diners. Many parties are involved with the issue of serving foie gras in Chicago restaurants, from animal rights activists to restaurant owners to foie gras producers, and even to those interested in the political process in Chicago's city administration.
Well, today is March 15th and if you know PETA, then you should know what day it is. Yep, it's Eat a Tasty Animal for PETA day.
Oh, you thought I meant the other PETA. Nah, I meant People for the Eating of Tasty Animals. You can look them up on Face Book. The group even posted an event page for the occasion.
Before I talk about this video from PETA, can we just settle down and understand that I'm not taking sides in the debate by posting about it here? I have no axe to grind or bone to pick or anything else, I just think it's a clever video that has talking food in it.
The video is titled "Road To The Greenhouse," and it shows the Presidential candidates answering questions about meat and it's effects on health and the environment. I mean, come on, how can you not laugh at the names Dijon McCain and Celery Clinton? I particularly like how Fruity Giuliani always talks about "7/11."
But wait a minute...Sam Donaldson?! What is this, 1988? I guess they wanted to get something to rhyme with Spam.
As a company, once you find a marketing strategy that works, you usually stick with it. Nike had the swoosh, milk has the mustaches, and PETA? Well, they have naked women.
Over the years, PETA has used women celebs like Alicia Silverstone, Eva Mendes, and Cindy Crawford to encourage the masses not to wear fur or eat meat. And while they've gotten a lot of flak, they continue to pay women to drop trou for the good of the animals.
Today in Philadelphia, PETA's "lettuce ladies" (women wearing little more than lettuce-shaped undergarments) will be handing out soy turkey sandwiches to promote the company's "Turn over a new leaf: go vegetarian" campaign.
A few points that should be noted, here: PETA rarely uses men to advertise its messages. It did use MTV Jackass' Steve-O, who was nude, but the ad a) only showed his backside and b) was quite obviously in jest, poking fun at the typical oversexed PETA model and keeping in vein with the show's brand of humor. Casey Affleck and Joaquin Phoenix have also done commercial spots for the organization - fully clothed. Somehow, I wonder if the effectiveness of the message is lost when we're too busy ogling Pam Anderson's generous chest to worry about what she's promoting.
Now, I'm all for soy products, either as meat replacements or as an addition to a healthy diet. Isn't it fascinating how, in campaigning to stop exploiting one living thing, another is exploited in its place? Maybe PETA should stop pointing its fingers at others for a second and turn the magnifying glass on itself.
Every year, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) holds an online poll where the public can vote for who they feel is the sexiest vegetarian. This year, the top two were Kevin Eubanks - jazz guitarist and bandleader for The Tonight Show, and Carrie Underwood, who claimed the title for the second time after winning in 2005 as well.
Past winners have included Kristin Bell and Prince in 2006, Underwood and Chris Martin in 2005, Alicia Silverstone and Andre 3000 in 2004, Lauren Bush and Josh Hartnett in 2003, Tobey Maguire and Natalie Portman in 2002, and Shania Twain - who in 2001 was the first celebrity to win the title.
I have to admit, my vote would have been for Joaquin Phoenix, but I'm not complaining about Eubanks winning, either.
Application season is winding down (or gearing up if you're the procrastinating type), but for vegetarians and vegans still in high school, it might be interesting to take note of PETA's list of the most veg-friendly schools for 2006. The list of schools was generated by and voted on by visitors to PETA's website, most likely students from the various schools who wanted to promote the things that their campuses are doing to diversity their offerings. The only real drawback to the list is that it doesn't take into account the ease of being a vegetarian off-campus. If it did, odds are that Berkeley would top the list with its tremendous amount of vegetarian and vegan fare just seconds from campus and Indiana University, located in a state where the only vegetarian food at some restaurants is a wedge salad sans bacon and dressing, would be further down the rankings. As it stands, here are the most veg-friendly campuses in the US and Canada:
What ever is a food blogger to do when offered a free lobe of foie gras from Mirepoix USA? One option is to do nothing. Another is to call Peta and complain. The best option, however, is to gather recipe suggestions, find a second blogger who received one and challenge her to a virtual face-off over who can prepare the better torchon of foie gras. In this case, the showdown was between Adam, the Amateur Gourmet, and Meg, of Megnut. Take a look at Adam's account of his adventures with the fatty liver, as well as at Meg's account from her kitchen. Since we weren't there to taste either of the finished products, we only have photos and Adam's video of his friends' reactions to the tasting to help us decide whose cuisine, in this case, reigns supreme.
Also, if you think that foie gras comes in those nice little rounds you see above, think again. Click past the jump to see what it looks like as it is being prepared.
Whole Foods markets will no longer sell live lobsters and soft-shelled crabs on the grounds that it is an inhumane practice. The company spent months studying the conditions that lobsters experienced en route from the sea to the shopper. They tried to make the lobsters as comfortable as possible, but ultimately concluded that "they could not ensure the creatures [were] treated with respect and compassion."
Whole Foods pointed to a European study that said lobsters can feel pain like humans and animals, but the scientific community is divided over to what degree a lobster's fairly primitive nervous systems actually feel.
The lobster industry isn't concerned with this decision. 25% of all lobsters are sold live and they feel strongly that consumers who want live lobsters will still seek them out.
PETA and other animal rights groups are thrilled with the decision, but seem to have missed the fact that the market will still carry frozen raw and cooked lobster products. The lobsters are still being killed, but they won't be boiled by Whole Foods shoppers.
Prince has been voted as the World's Sexiest Vegetarian by the folks at PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). The online poll involved such stars as Natalie Portman, Nicollette Sheridan and Joaquin Phoenix and attracted over 40,000 voters.
The purple clad singer shares this year's nomination with Kristen Bell, the 25-year-old star of the US television show Veronica Mars. A strict vegan, Prince recently added to the liner notes of his newest CD, 3121, the Gandhi quote, "To my mind, the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being." This passage is especially dear to Prince as he is against the means used in mass wool production.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) wants Outback Steakhouse, Inc. to
look into a method of chicken slaughter that is allegedly more humane, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal. Called
controlled-atmosphere killing, the method basically gasses the birds, thus putting them "to sleep." PETA
raised the suggestion at the annual Outback shareholders meeting this week in Tampa. How did PETA get their item on the
table? They own 80 shares of Outback stock, enough to have an issue voted on at the yearly meeting. According to the
TBBJ, PETA has put similar items up for a vote to Kroger, KFC and Hormel. Every time, the proposals for investigation
of controlled-atmosphere killing have received more than three percent of the vote. While that isn't much, it's
apparently enough to allow the issue to be submitted again next year.
Last
week, eight workers at a ConAgra pork processing facility in Lincoln, Nebraska, won $365 million in a Powerball
drawing. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) recently contacted the eight winners and asked them to donate a small
share of their winnings to improving the lives of pigs that have been rescued from slaughterhouses or 4-H fairs. PETA
argues that pigs are what formed the livelihood of the workers and that the animals should be re-payed somehow.
[Via Pork Magazine, which has a
slightly different slant]
Well, today is March 15th and if you know PETA, then you should know what day it is. Yep, it's Eat a Tasty Animal for PETA day.
Before I talk about this video from PETA, can we just settle down and understand that I'm not taking sides in the debate by posting about it here? I have no axe to grind or bone to pick or anything else, I just think it's a clever video that has talking food in it.
Application season is winding down (or gearing up if you're the procrastinating type), but for vegetarians and vegans still in high school, it might be interesting to take note of PETA's list of the 
Prince has been voted as the 
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (
Last
week, eight workers at a ConAgra pork processing facility in Lincoln, Nebraska, won $365 million in a Powerball
drawing. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) recently 
Chocolate-stuffed bananas on the grill
Tyler Florence welcomes new daughter
Beware kids' menus!
